The thing that we have to remember is that while buying it was most likely illegal, the journalist didn't do it. It's one thing if they want to search Gizmodo's office (because they bought the stolen goods), but what reason would they have for searching the journalist's home?
While it makes sense that you are no more mature the day before your 21st birthday than you are on said birthday, where would we draw the line? Would you be mature enough at 20.5 years? As soon as you start blurring the line, there is no place to stop. Ideally a law shouldn't be passed if it is that close, but the cutoff has to be somewhere.
Slashdot Mirror
The thing that we have to remember is that while buying it was most likely illegal, the journalist didn't do it. It's one thing if they want to search Gizmodo's office (because they bought the stolen goods), but what reason would they have for searching the journalist's home?
While it makes sense that you are no more mature the day before your 21st birthday than you are on said birthday, where would we draw the line? Would you be mature enough at 20.5 years? As soon as you start blurring the line, there is no place to stop. Ideally a law shouldn't be passed if it is that close, but the cutoff has to be somewhere.